Monthly Archives June 2015

If you are like a magpie and cannot resist the glint off the edge of shiny piece of eye candy, guys and gals, this one is for you! We have gone copper crazy….

So, it is clear that we are now in an era where we are no longer living with the choices that brands feed to us, but rather the consumer is the one that decides what we want – and with this comes choice and boy there is a lot of it!

Different colour finishes are now becoming more readily available. I have always been a sucker for copper – running around the 2nd hand stores looking for those old copper titbits that are still in good condition. Don’t get me wrong, 2nd hand shops are still a great place to find copper antiques, but things are exciting now with various industries producing their products in a copper finish as a standard.

I can only tell you the things that I like that I have seen….

Cluster of copper light boxes by Lacoli & Mcallister

Copper light fittings

There is a huge variety of copper lighting available for indoor, outdoor as well as amazing pendant lights to make the perfect center-piece in the home. This is an Iacoli & McAllister’s light fitting featuring a suspended collection of copper cubes.

Carrol Boyes Fire collection – embrace copper vase

“The colour and warmth of this fiery metal gives it an indulgent feel. Now that copper is enjoying a revival, Carrol felt it was the right time to introduce it into the range in a modern form.”

Copper in the kitchen

I am still a fan of the old school look of copper hanging above the stove in the kitchen, though I wouldn’t dream of using the pots for actual cooking!

Copper in the bathroom

Again, this is the old school, traditional part of me that likes this look, but there is now a modern revelational twist on this one. Shower and basin mixer taps are now available in this red gold finish from Axor and Hansgrohe.

I recently helped in organizing a launch at the company I work for and part of the task was to organize the event furniture. Having some help from a colleague in my office, we had a look at the furniture available for rental. Boy, how things have changed in the past few years. I have heard about people making their own furniture out of crates, but it seems to be a DIY trend in the making….

Furniture is being fashioned from recycled pallets and looks amazing

People are making everything from coffee tables, to chairs and even staircases. This is a great way of repurposing old materials, BUT, the truth is that you probably wouldn’t want to use old materials to make these kinds of structures. The wood has to still be solid and sound, so unless you wish to specifically get the look of a pallet (which you would need to buy new by the way and would be hard to find unless you have connections), you are better off just buying some raw pine wood from your local DIY shop. Either that, or you will find someone who has taken advantage of this trend and decided to retail this style of furniture.

My tips would be, make use of wood that is not too thin, is not too raw or rough, considering whether it is in contact with skin or not, and wood that is unmarked or unbranded.

We welcome this new trend to Decor Design Ideas because it’s refreshing!

I bet if you have never gone through the process of a renovation or building a home, you would think, “How complicated can it be to choose a tap?”. Well myself, working for a premium tap manufacturing wholesaler, knows that it isn’t always simple. Have a look at the interview featured on Signature Living (DSTV, Home Channel 176) for some practical tips of choosing bathroomware and some of the current inspirational bathroom products.

So, just because you are an animal lover doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the majestic beauty that the imagery of nature brings to a home. Having been a vegetarian myself, I was often challenged by that beautiful cow skin rug and the sheepskin throw, BUT I can happily say that I have not given in and you don’t have to either now that faux taxidermy and textiles are all the rage.

Faux Taxidermy *Credit Amazon & CraftyGentleman.net*

The different types of faux we can find I would categorize into:

fur – being the skin rugs and throws;

flowers – made from paper, beads or ceramics

fauna – taxidermy of animals using paper, moulds and beads

FurAlthough generally synthetic, there are the most amazingly luxurious throws and blankets being produced at a price that you can now afford! And you do not have to feel bad. From faux wool to bear and fox fur, you can find almost anything… and they look and feel heavenly!

FlowersThere is nothing more beautiful than an orchid in bloom, but you would be surprised at the plastic, beaded, ceramic and paper flowers that are on the market these days. They often look better than the real thing and the bonus is that they don’t die.

Faux orchids, ceramic flowers & faux bear fur

Fauna
So, by fauna, I was alluding to the the idea of the poor woodland creatures that are hunted and then put up on a wall. Obviously taxidermy doesn’t stop there as it includes all sorts of other creatures. The new faux taxidermy comes in all sorts of materials from paper, to beading and textiles. What is awesome about the new trend of faux taxidermy is that it includes all sorts of imaginary animals too, like unicorns, giant squid tentacles and hell, even the rear end of a beaver! Loving the creativity shown here by The Crafty Gentleman.

You can now be kind to animals and decorate your home with faux fur, flowers and furry friends.